Monthly Archives: July 2012
DC isn’t working says Hymans Robertson- I agree – let’s change that!
Pensions apathy from companies and employees is creating a new labour headache for UK PLC and delivering poor outcomes for employees on their pensions. Suspicions that defined contribution (DC) company pensions are failing have been confirmed in a new report by … Continue reading
Posted in actuaries, annuity, auto-enrolment
Tagged Defined benefit pension plan, Employment, Government, Human Resources, October, pension, Retirement, Steve Webb
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“Ambitious” pensions can save you from staging a disaster
Organisations with 500 or more employees have been written to recently by the DWP with a reminder that in 2013 they have to “stage” auto-enrolment. Companies which historically provide and promote pensions to their staff will take all this in their stride But staging … Continue reading
Stop moaning Britain!
I am in Manchester , it is raining- Jenny K is tweeting there’s no such verb as “to medal”, the pensions world is indignant but I have the sun strapped over my shoulder and shout out “cheer up, stop moaning and enjoy the … Continue reading
Posted in Change, dc pensions, London, Olympics, Olympics 2012, pension playpen
Tagged Britain, Facebook, London, London Olympic Park, Malta, Manchester, Olympic Games, pension
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Twenty reasons to love these Olympics (and they’re only 2 days old)
The volunteers – they’re everywhere, they are helpful, they are the heart and soul of the Olympics THANKS The army – cancelling holidays to make this work – brilliant efficient reassuring THANKS Danny Boyle for helping us understand why we’re proud … Continue reading
Posted in London, Olympics, Olympics 2012
Tagged Boris Johnson, Danny Boyle, Dorney Lake, London, Mark Cavendish, Olympic, Olympic Games, Windsor Bridge
2 Comments
It’s not just about medal tables!
I’ve been rude about the Olympic Park before now, earlier in the year I took the family to a warm up event which turned out to be an exercise in lock down, it rained, we saw little and we got cold. … Continue reading
Posted in Occupy London, Olympics, Olympics 2012, pension playpen
Tagged 2012 Summer Olympics, Events, London, Olympic, Olympic Games, Olympic symbols, Sport, Summer Games
1 Comment
Come Racing at Windsor!
All summer long we’ve been waiting for some sun, and whew- it’s come! London‘s best kept secret is Windsor races on a Monday night. Whatever racecourse let you arrive by boat? Where else do the stallhandlers bunk off from their … Continue reading
Posted in Horse racing, Olympics, Olympics 2012
Tagged Dorney, England, Eton, Eton College, London, Monday, Monday Night Football, Windsor Star
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End of an epoch?
This is an article by Con Keating, reproduced with his kind permission. It’s hard but it’s worth it- Con is the cleverest man in town. The demise of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s was epoch-defining; it constituted a massive shift of … Continue reading
Posted in Bankers, Change, economics, EU Solvency II, Treasury
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Send in forensic actuaries to sort out these “rip-off” pensions!
Spookily, a couple of hours after I’d published yesterday’s blog about how the DWP had ducked the dodgy question of how to sort out legacy pension charges, Steve Webb, the Pension Minister issued an appeal to the pensions industry to … Continue reading
“The first cut is the cheapest” – transferring legacy pensions
We all know the song. The revised phrase was coined by stockbrokers who’d tell their customers to sell out of a failing stock before it’s price fell again. The phrase use to be sung to Equitable Life policyholders who hung … Continue reading